Side Effects of Consuming Moonshine
by whyarenamessohard
Summary: Moonshine is an extremely strong drink and the side effects of drinking moonshine are not to be taken lightly


_**Moonshine**__-noun_

_Moonshine is a term used to describe high-proof distilled spirits, generally produced illicitly. Possible side effects include:_

**1. Intoxication**

_As with all alcoholic beverages when consumed moonshine leads to intoxication which can lead to:_

_**flushed skin**_

"You've still got some dirt right there." Daryl said point towards Beth's cheek. They had just found a stream to clean themselves of the abundant amount of dirt, blood, and assorted grime that had managed to cake itself onto their bodies in the weeks since they had left the prison. Daryl had let Beth take the first turn bathing while he kept watch. Even though the water had felt like ice and she had been to embarrassed to strip out of her underwear for fear that Daryl would have to turn around(she did not think for a second that he would turn around to spy on her on purpose, she was just afraid that there would be a walker and he would have to turn to shoot it, thus seeing her in all her naked glory)it had still been the best feeling in the world to scrub herself and her clothing free of dirt.

Daryl reached out and in a surprisingly soft gesture he wiped the leftover smudge of dirt off of her face. This was the first time he had touched her since two nights ago when they had gotten drunk and burned down a house together. Beth thought his touch felt as warm as the fire had and she felt her face begin to flame under his touch. Even as she stood and kept watch so that he could bathe the skin of her face did not cool down.

_**impairments of balance**_

"Ugh!" Beth cried with a laugh as she slipped off of the interstate barrier and stumbled to regain her footing on the cracked pavement. "I'm so bad at this." she complained as she turned and climbed back up onto the cool gray concrete made for protecting cars from heading into the wrong side of the interstate.

Daryl shook his head at her from where he walked down on the road beside her. She had been attempting to walk along the barrier all morning, ever since they had walked out on the interstate. At first she had done it to dodge around the vast amount of abandoned cars that cluttered the road. Even though they had made it out of the worst of the pile ups she still insisted on walking down the barrier, her arms held out to her sides for balance.

Daryl kept one eye on the road for walkers but he also kept one eye on her. Her face was set in concentration, he could see the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth as she shuffled along on wobbly legs. A few days ago this slow pace and childlike game would have annoyed him but now he was just happy to see her having fun. Seeing the small smile on her face every time she beat her old distance was well worth their slow pace.

Beth suddenly began to propel her arms wildly as she began to loose her balance. With a small gasp of surprise she slipped sideways off of the barrier. Without thinking Daryl reached his arms out and caught her bridal style. She gasped again as her body fell into his arms and her hands wrapped around his neck as though she was still afraid of falling. For a moment they just stared at each other, as though neither was entirely sure how they had gotten themselves into this predicament.

Daryl came to his senses first and slowly lowered her to the ground. Beth removed her arms from his neck with a mumbled thanks and turned to climb back up onto the barrier.

Daryl spent the rest of the afternoon catching her every time she fell.

_**loss of muscle control **_

Sighing Beth rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. She was so tired but she did not seem to be able to fall asleep. It was Daryl's turn on watch now but as she lay a few feet from him on the cold dirt she could not get her mind to shut off and let her sleep.

Groaning she sat up and scooted closer to Daryl who looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I can't sleep." she informed him in a whisper, tilting her neck from side to side. "This ground is getting to me." she admitted as she rubbed at the sore crick in her neck.

Daryl looked at her strangely before removing his hand from his crossbow to reach over and touch the spot where her hand was. "C'mere." he muttered softly and Beth was glad for the darkness to hide her burning face as she scooted closer to him, unsure of what he was planning.

Her back was nearly pressed against his chest as he placed his hands against her neck and moved his thumbs against the knots there. She had to bite back a moan at the feeling and her muscles relaxed under his touch. Within minutes she had fallen asleep propped up against him with her face buried into his chest.

_**feelings of euphoria**_

The sound of her laughter made Daryl's chest feel strange as she leaned against him, relying completely on him to keep her weight upright. Daryl let out a small chuckle at her actions, likely the first laugh he had let out since the prison.

"Wasn't that funny Greene." he complained jokingly as she finally straightened and wiped real tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she wheezed out and pulled away from him to stand on her own two feet. Daryl felt surprisingly cold as she moved away from him.

"I'll never tell you about my childhood again." he joked as he shook his head at her antics.

Beth smiled lightly at him before squeezing his arm. "I'm sorry. Really, that's terrible." her blue eyes were bright on him and he found any traces of annoyance he had at her laughter vanished. As if she could sense this she smiled at him and leaned up to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "Sorry." she whispered again but Daryl barely heard her over the buzzing in his own head at the feel of her soft lips on his skin.

_**decreased social inhibition**_

The rain pounded harshly against the roof of the small shed as Daryl tied the doors together with the length of rope they had found inside it. Beth double checked the corners to make sure they were alone before sighing and trying to shake some of the water off of her body.  
Droplets of water flew everywhere and Daryl turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow as he finished tying the rope.

"Sorry." she managed to make out from between her chattering teeth as the cold began to sink into her. Never in her life had she wanted a hot shower and a pair of dry clothes as much as she did at that moment.

Although he did so without making any noise Beth could see Daryl was shivering as well. "We're gonna need to get out of these clothes." he finally said softly. Beth nodded in agreement and moved to unbutton her sweater before she realized what that statement meant. Daryl was already shedding his jacket and she could feel a heat forming in her as he moved to unbutton his shirt as well. Unfortunately the heat was not enough to warm her so her shaking fingers finished unbuttoning her sweater and she reached up to hang it from the rafters, happy that the shed was at least waterproof.

Daryl had stripped down into just his pants and a t-shirt that was sticking tightly to him and Beth found she didn't know where to look as his fingers went for his hem. It was dark in the shed but not that dark and she had no idea how much clothes he meant to take off. Or how much she should take off.

As if he had sensed her unease he looked over at her where she stood shivering and staring at him, her own clothes sticking to her like a second skin.

"We'll get sick if we don't take them off." he explained awkwardly. "I can face the corner or something." he offered as if he sensed her unease. She had never been unclothed in front of a man, or seen one unclothed. Beth shook her head nervously, there was no point in trying to be shy around Daryl. She was going to be with him for a while, he'd probably see her in her underwear one day for one reason or another. Might as well be today. Slowly she reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled the dirty yellow polo over her head. Shirtless except for her bra she looked over to find Daryl staring at the floor of the shed which was now covered in puddles from their sopping forms.

Both of them finished undressing in silence stripped down to their underwear as they tried to look anywhere but each other, both failing miserably. Finally Daryl managed to find some worn horse blankets in a box at the back of the shed and they spread one on the floor and wrapped the other around themselves, both trying not to touch each other as they shivered under their shared blanket.

The warmth from the other's body attracted them like moths to flames and within minutes they were huddled next to each other, their bare skin slick with water against the other as they sat shivering through the night.

_**and impairments on decision making.**_

The funeral home was the cleanest place that Daryl had seen in years. He wandered around it aimlessly, a bit put off by the corpses there despite what Beth thought about it being beautiful. Although a small part of him did agree with her that it was nice to be reminded that these things were once people Daryl still thought it was fairly weird and morbid. His thoughts were distracted as he heard the melodic sound of a piano and Beth's soft voice.

He let the sound of her singing guide him into the room where she sat at the piano. Spying the empty coffin he climbed inside of it. The padded interior was more comfortable than he had expected. Daryl didn't quite understand why they had ever given such soft beds to the dead, seemed like a waste.

As Beth kept singing he found he could not take his eyes off of her. Eventually she stopped singing yet she still sat at the piano, her hands resting softly on the keys yet not moving.

"Whats the matter?" Daryl asked softly causing her to look over at him with a small smile and a shrug.

"Just missed playing is all." she said as she ran her fingers lightly over the keys. A look of immense sadness crossed her face before she looked over at Daryl with a small smile. "How's your bed?" she asked lightly.

"Comfy." he said as he fluffed the pillow beneath his head. "Wanna try it out?" the question slipped past his lips before he thought it through and he mentally cursed to himself. That sounded like a crappy dirty pick up line. Beth did not react that way however. She merely blinked slowly at him before standing and limping slowly to the coffin. Daryl all but held his breath as she reached him. He turned onto his side and pressed his back into the padded side as she slowly climbed up and swung her legs inside. Daryl thought his heart was going to pound out of his chest as she stretched out down the coffin before turning onto her side to face him.

Their heads rested on the pillow, their faces mere inches from each other. For a moment neither of them said anything, they merely stared into each other eyes until Beth gave him a small smile. "You're right." she whispered. "It is comfortable."

Daryl nodded, finding himself unable to form words. Their hands brushed each other and Daryl slowly intertwined his fingers with hers as she smiled wider. Neither one of them said anything more as they slowly drifted off to sleep inside the coffin.

**2. Blindness**

_Bad moonshine can lead to damage of the optical nerve which can lead to blindness._

Beth woke in darkness, her ankle throbbing and her hands twisted awkwardly behind her back. She blinked and tried to open her mouth to ask Daryl what was going on before she realized that there was a gag in her mouth and she remembered what had happened.

The funeral home being over run, Daryl yelling for her to meet him on the road. The headlights blinding her eyes, her crying out for them to help her, to help her go and safe Daryl. The pain she felt as something was slammed into the side of her head.

And then the darkness.

Disoriented she tried to push the gag out of her mouth with her teeth but it was no use. It was tied to tightly around her mouth. Looking around her at the vast darkness and judging by the feeling of movement beneath her she decided that she had to be in the trunk of the car. Beth struggled against her bonds until her muscles burned. Eventually after a great deal of careful maneuvering she managed to wriggle her legs through her arms so that they were in front of her instead of tied behind her back. Her shoulders burned from the effort but she was now able to reach up and untie the gag from her mouth. Throwing it to the side she took in a deep breath of grateful air before raising her hands to her mouth and tugging on the knot. Beth thought she felt the car slowing down and her movements became more frantic as she finally manged to loosen the knot binding her hands. The car had only been slowing for a turn and she felt herself roll in the direction as it turned.

Finally, with tears in her eyes and blood on both her wrists and in her mouth the rope came untied and she pulled it off of her hands with a quiet sob. Her mind was racing frantically on why she was tied in the trunk of a car and what on earth had happened to Daryl. Reaching down Beth managed to untie the knot around her throbbing ankles with shaking fingers. After a few minutes of fumbling she was finally unbound and she let herself lean back her head for a moment as she fought to catch her breath and gather her thoughts.

She had no idea who had taken her, or why. No idea where they were taking her or how to get out of the truck of a moving car. She could see nothing in the blackness of the trunk but her hands had scoured every inch of the trunk and come up empty. Finally she decided her only plan would be the element of surprise.

Beth would wait for whoever had taken her to open the car trunk and then she would attack them. They would expect her to be bound and helpless so she would come up swinging. A part of her did not want to hurt the people who had taken her, the part of her that wanted to believe that everyone still had some good inside of them. But the larger part of her thought that these people would not have kidnapped her and bound her in the trunk of the car if they were good people. And even if they were she wasn't going to stick around to find out.

Beth waited in the darkness until finally she felt the car pull to a stop. Without the roar of the engine or the sound of the tires over the pavement she could now hear the voices of two men as they opened their car doors.

"C'mon you always get the first go!" one complained loudly and she could hear the sound of their boots as they approached the trunk. Her heart in her throat she rose onto her hands and knees and readied herself to lunge at them.

"Then what's one more helping of my sloppy seconds?" another deeper voice responded. Beth suddenly realized what they were talking about and why they must haven taken her and she felt bile burn in the back of her throat.

Beth had been thinking about trying to get past them without killing them but she decided then if they didn't hurt her they would just find someone else to hurt. She couldn't live with knowing she had condemned someone else to this fate. She would kill them or they would kill her but that was the only way this was going to end.

She heard the sound of a key in the lock of the trunk and her pulse began to hammer in her head, the pain in her ankle dulled out by the rush of adrenaline. The trunk sprang open and the early light of dawn nearly blinded Beth as she had grown so used to the darkness of the drunk. A thick middle aged man stared down in shock as Beth lunged at him, her hand immediately going for the gun on his belt. The man let out a cry as she fell against him, half in and half out of the trunk. The other man, who was standing a few feet away pissing onto the pavement turned to look over his shoulder, his mouth dropping open with shock.

His hand went for his gun but already Beth had raised her stolen one which she fired without a second thought. The bullet hit home between his eyes and she turned to the man she leaned against as he finally came out of his shock.

"Bitch!" he cried his large hands grabbing her arms. They struggled against each other as he fought for possession of the gun before Beth managed to press it against his chin and fire.

Bits of blood and brain coated her face as her ears began to ring. Stumbling Beth fell out of the car trunk and onto her hands and knees where she vomited beside the corpse.

Ears still ringing she began to clamber to her feet knowing she had to leave as the sound of the gunshots had certainly drawn walkers to her. Using the car to pull herself to her feet she caught sight of branches rustling in the bushes to the side of the road and she rose the gun high, figuring one more gunshot wouldn't do any harm. She blinked past the blood that was dripping into her eyes and put her finger on the trigger as two forms stumbled out of the trees.

Beth felt her mouth drop open at the sight and stared with wide eyes at the two people who simply stared back at her. Slowly Beth clicked the safety back on the gun before shoving it into her waist band and hobbling forward as fast as she could to the two people rushing towards her.

Tears, brought on from losing Daryl, what she had just done, what had almost been done to her and the two people whose arms she was rushing for sprang to her eyes. Despite the tears, blood and brains she was now coated in Tyresse and Carol still pulled her into their arms in a tight embrace.

Beth ducked her head into Carol's shoulder and felt the older woman stroke her hair lovingly as Beth began to sob.

**3. Neurological Damage**

_An excess consumption of moonshine can lead to severe neurological damage._

The days passed by in a haze of rough voices and emptiness. Joe's group took Daryl in but he found that he could barely stand to talk to any of them. To anyone. The memory of Beth was still to fresh in his mind. He lay down to sleep at night and was consumed with worry and wonder at where she was and who had taken her while at the same time being filled with an overwhelming since of guilt. He found that he could not think on anything but Beth but thinking of her caused him so much pain that eventually he taught his mind to simply go blank and he settled into his haze.

Eventually when he was reunited with Rick, Carl and Michonne the haze managed to clear a bit. With them he could focus on something besides Beth. Reuniting with them had given him a small hope that maybe one day he would find Beth again but as quickly as he got the hope he crushed it down. Daryl could not stand believing that she was still alive, not when it might not be true.

They made it to Terminus and a small part of him began hoping that he would find Beth there unharmed. As he and the others were ushered into the train car he couldn't believe that he had ever been foolish enough to hope for such a thing.

Happy endings no longer existed.

Finding the others in the train car was a bit of a mixed blessing, because while they were together they were all trapped and about to die and seeing Maggie reminded him of Beth even more. Telling Maggie that he had lost her sister was the hardest thing he had to do. The sound of her crying into Glenn's arms was just another reminder of his failure.

All Daryl wanted was to close his eyes and wake up next to her in that coffin again but he knew that would never happen. Beth was to good to survive out in this world. He knew now that she had to be dead so he focused all his efforts on figuring out how they would all escape the train car.

It turned out that they didn't actually have to try very hard to escape at all. Daryl estimated that they had been in the train car for all of twelve hours trying to devise a plan before they heard the sound of gunfire outside. Immediately they were all on their feet and pressing towards the train doors. The doors were left unlocked but there was a sniper on guard twenty-four seven to make sure that no one left, as the others had already informed them. The sniper always only shot warning shots but they were all certain that if pressed they would shoot to kill.

Rick motioned for everyone to step back from the door before he slowly eased it open. Daryl found himself wishing for his crossbow, for a knife, really for any weapon at all. He felt naked and vulnerable without one in his hands and it was not a feeling that he enjoyed.

The train door slide open silently as Rick peered around the small crack, his hand white knuckled against the door ready to slide it back closed at any moment. The sound of gunfire could still be heard but none of it seemed to be firing in their direction. Slowly Rick eased the door open a bit more and peered at the rooftops across from them. Daryl felt his muscles tense, ready to pull Rick back at the first sign of danger. He had already lost Beth, he couldn't loose Rick too.

Nothing was fired at them so Rick eased open the door completely before quickly climbing down the steps and motioning the others out after him. They quickly ran down one of the alleys where Rick stopped them as he looked out to search the empty street.

"What do we do?" Glenn asked softly, his hand wrapped tight around Maggie's.

"We go kill all of these mother fuckers." the large mustached man, Abraham, growled, the girl at his side nodding in agreement.

"Or we go." the short dark haired girl whispered back. "We could just climb over the fences and leave." Daryl recognized her from the attack on the prison. A small part of him wondered why she was suddenly so against killing people now before he turned to face Rick. He would do whatever Rick said to do. He was the one that Daryl trusted, not these other people.

"We kill them." Rick whispered fiercely as he looked at each of them in turn. "They would have killed us. Let's make sure they don't get that chance with anybody else."

They all nodded in response and Daryl saw Rick place a hand on Carl's shoulder. He looked up at his father with grim eyes as he nodded in agreement.

"We need weapons." Daryl whispered the obvious. They had no hope of getting out of hear alive without them and he missed the feeling of control holding a weapon gave him.

The gunfire had ceased and Daryl knew they were now on borrowed time. Whatever disagreement the people here had been having was over and they would likely go check the train car now. They needed to get ready for them.

"What do you need weapons for?" a deep and familiar voice asked from the end of the alley. The group turned as one to see Tyresse standing at the mouth of the alley, blood streaking his clothes and a large gun resting on his shoulder. Daryl heard Sasha gasp from behind him. "We already took care of it all for you."

**4. Paralysis**

_This neurological damage can lead to later partial or full paralysis._

They followed Tyresse silently across the empty town in the direction of the small courtyard where they had been brought earlier that day. Daryl tore his eyes away from the bodies that littered the floor to stare at Tyresse's back. He walked between Sasha and Rick as he explained how he knew to save them.

"We were headed to Terminus ourselves." he explained as wrapped his arm around Sasha's shoulder. "Began heading there almost right away. We ran into Carol that first day." he explained and Daryl felt a breath of relief at knowing that she was alive. "We heard a bunch of gunfire as we got close and we managed to see them usher all of you into that train car. We waited until nightfall to sneak in and got their guns away from them. They had no idea we were inside until it was too late." Tyresse shook his head and squeezed Sasha's shoulders. "Course we didn't know all of you were in there or we would have came and got you immediately."

"Thank you." Rick said clapping Tyresse on the shoulder who simply nodded in return.

"Who did you get out with?" Carl asked curiously from where he walked next to Daryl.

"Mika and Lizzie." Tyresse let out a low sigh. "They're both gone now. Lizzie she uh." Tyresse shook his head and Daryl heard him swallow. "She killed Mika. She was the one feeding the walkers at the prison. She never realized how bad walkers are. Lizzie thought Mika would come back and we would understand then." Tyresse shook his head sadly as everyone gasped at this knowledge. Daryl saw Michonne shake her head sadly and wrap her arm around a mournful looking Carl to pull him tightly to her side.

"Is Lizzie dead too?" Bob asked softly to which Tyresse simply nodded.

They were silent for a moment as they let this all sink in. Tyresse interrupted them again as they turned down the street that led into the courtyard, the gray lit of dawn just beginning to lighten the sky. "Luckily Carol and I caught her before she could kill Judith too-"

Rick let out a grunt like he was in pain as he stopped in his tracks to stare at Tyresse as Carl gasped out, "Judith is alive?"

Tyresse looked at both of them before he shook his head. Daryl saw both of the Grimes boys faces begin to crumble before Tyresse began to frantically nod. "Yes, yes she's alive!" he shook his head again as Rick pulled Carl to him in a tight hug and Tyresse shook his head again. "I'm sorry. I should have told you that immediately."

"Where is she?" Rick asked as Carl pulled away to stare at Tyresse with wide and disbelieving eyes.

"In the courtyard. Carol and I left her with Beth so we could clear the place out." he said pointing them in the direction.

Daryl felt like Tyresse punched him and it was his turn to stop in his tracks. He almost doubled over and the man with the mullet, Eugene, reached over to grab his arm in concern.

"Beth?" Maggie gasped before she turned and began to run the last street to the courtyard. Glenn, Rick and Carl were all fast on her heels and the others began to follow them as well. Daryl found he was unable to move at all and Eugene pulled on his arm to help him straighten up.

"You alright?" he asked in his slow drawl and Daryl nodded absentmindedly.

His heart suddenly began to race as he realized that Beth was not dead as he had begun to believe. She was alive and she was only a street away. Daryl pulled his arm free of Eugene's grip and began to walk quickly towards the others. He had only taken a few steps before his feet broke into a run and he sprinted out into the courtyard.

Rick and Carl were sitting on one of the benches holding Judith and crying. Nearby Carol stood with Bob and Michonne. Tyresse stood with his sister and the new group of people Glenn had found, or that had found Glenn. And there in the middle of it all stood Beth, one of her hands held tight in Maggie and Glenn's grip.

The little breath that Daryl had managed to find rushed out of him and he saw Eugene join his group from the corner of his eye. He could not tear his eyes away from Beth but he couldn't move a muscle to call out to her or approach her either. Daryl felt like he was seeing a ghost and he was sure that he looked like a fool but not a single part of him cared because she was alive. She was standing right in front of him and she was alive.

As though she sensed his gaze on her Beth slowly tore her eyes away from Maggie and scanned the courtyard. Her eyes landed on him and she gasped. For a moment she looked as frozen as he was before she tore her hands from her family and raced across the few feet remaining between them, all traces of her limp gone.

Daryl had just enough sense left to open his arms before she propelled herself into them.

_**In conclusion: **The consequences of drinking moonshine are far greater than the rewards._

Beth wrapped her arms tight around his neck and buried her face into his chest, her feet dangling inches form the floor as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up.

Daryl could feel everyone's eyes on them but that only registered in the back of his mind because the only thing that truly mattered at that moment was the feel of Beth warm and alive in his arms.

"I thought I would never see you again." Beth whispered into his ear. He could hear the pain in her voice and was surprised to find that it matched the pain that he had been feeling all this time.

Daryl turned his head to face her and she pulled away slightly to rest her forehead against his as he whispered.

"I ain't ever gonna leave you."

Beth slowly beamed at him and as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon she took his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his in the sweetest kiss either of them had ever had.


End file.
